Charros win 7th in a Row - Top Caneros 6-4

It took 10 innings but the Charros topped the Caneros de los Mochis 6-4 to win their 7th game in a row and catch Mexicali for the 2nd half lead in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico.

Jesus Lopez started things off for the Charros in the top of the 3rd by hitting a solo home run to left to lead off and give Jalisco a 1-0 lead.         

Leo Heras' Home Run courtesy of Charros Jalisco Beisbol

The Caneros scored in the bottom of the 3rd on two errors by the Charros and a sacrifice bunt by Greg Golson that scored Yancarlo Angulo and the game was tied at 1.

Leo Heras singled to lead off the 6th and Japhet Amador followed with a base on balls. After Marquez Smith's ground out moved the runners up, CJ Retherford cleared the bases with his 5th home run of the season and a 4-1 Charros lead.

los Mochis had two outs and a man on second in the bottom of the 7th when Yancarlo Angulo was hit by a pitch by Charros starter, Ben Kozlowski. Juan Gamboa singled to right to score Saul Soto to cut the lead to 4-2. Adrian Gonzalez entered the game in relief and gave up a single to Greg Golson that scored Angulo. Antonio Lamas singled to right to score Gamboa and the Caneros had tied the game at 4-4.

The score remained tied through regulation. CJ Retherford walked to lead off the Charros half of the 10th inning. Gabriel Gutierrez sacrificed Retherford to second and after Jesus Lopez flied out to center for the second out, Edson Garcia singled to score Retherford. Garcia, who had taken second on the throw to the plate, moved to third on a wild pitch. Eduardo Arredondo singled to score Garcia and when Mario Mendoza pitched a perfect bottom of the 10th, the Charros had the 6-4 victory.

Mendoza picked up the win in relief to improve to 1-1 on the year while lowering his ERA to 2.66. Charros starter, Ben Kozlowski, went 6 2/3 innings, charged with 4 runs on just 4 hits with a walk and 3 strikeouts. Santiago Gutierrez took the loss for los Mochis to drop to 2-5 on the season.

CJ Retherford was 2 for 4 on the night with a 3 run home run and 2 runs scored. Manny Rodriguez, Leo Heras, Jesus Lopez and Edson Garcia were all 2 for 5.

The Charros are now 37-23 overall in the league, 2 games ahead of the Aguilas de Mexicali and 16-9 in the second half, tied with the Aguilas.

Battle of 2-12 Teams Goes to Jacksonville

A battle of 2-12 teams that could determine who gets a shot at Marcus Mariota in the spring draft, was won by the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Tennessee Titans 21-13.

Tennessee took a 10 nothing lead before Blake Bortles hit Marcedes Lewis with a 4 yard pass with :31 seconds on the clock in the 1st half.

Toby Gerhart scored on a 1 yard run in the 3rd quarter to put the Jags ahead 14-10. Jordan Todman broke loose on a 62 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter to put Jacksonville up 21 10 with 9:13 left in the game.
Ryan Succop  hit a 23 yard field goal with about 6 minutes to go to put the score at 21-13 and the Titans were driving when Charlie Whitehurst was sacked on the last play of the game to seal the win for the Jaguars.

Naranjeros Swept By Charros

The Naranjeros de Hermosillo visited Zapopan for three games and the Charros won all three games.

Jalisco started off the scoring on Thursday night in the bottom of the 1st as Manny Rodriguez drove a pitch from Hermosillo starter, Alfredo Aceves, over the left field wall for a quick 1-0 Charros lead.

The Naranjeros threatened in the top of the 3rd. Jose Cardona hit a one out triple off the wall in center field but the Jalisco starter, Orlando Lara, got Jose Aguilar to fly out to shallow right and Carlos Gastelum to ground out to short to end the inning with no damage done.

The Charros built on their lead in the 4th on a Marquez Smith double to right and a run scoring double to center by Jesus Cota. Fernando Valenzuela followed, one out later, with a single to left that scored Cota but Valenzuela was out at second on a good throw by the Hermosillo left fielder. The Charros had a 3-0 lead.

Mermosillo got a run back in the top of the 6th on Jose Amador's 9th home run of the season to cut the Charros lead to 3-1.

Orlando Lara picked up the win to move to 6-3 on the year with 6 1/3 innings on the mound. Lara gave up 1 run while scattering 6 hits, walking none and striking out 3. Mario Mendoza got his second save of the season pitching a scoreless 9th. Alfredo Aceves took the loss for the Naranjeros to drop to 5-6 on the year.

Manny Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with his 6th home run of the year, an RBI and a run scored. Gabriel Gutierrez was 1 for 2 on the night to raise his average to .280.

Jalisco climbs to 36-23 overall and 14-9 in the second half of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico.

Charros Take 2 From Naranjeros 3-2 and 7-0

The Charros de Jalisco have taken the first two games of a three game series with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo by scores of 3-2 and 7-0.

Ivan salas got the win in the 3-2 victory pitching the top of the 9th in relief of Adrian Ramirez who had given up a 2 run home run to Jose Amador that had tied the game at 2 apiece.

Jalisco opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd on a sac fly that scored Amadeo Zazueta for the 1-0 lead.

The Charros added a run in the bottom of the 8th when Amadeo Zazueta singled and went to third on an errant pick off attempt. Zazueta scored on a single by Israel Nunez to give the Charros a short lived 2-0 lead.

After Hermisillo had tied the game in the top of the 9th, Edson Garcia, of the Charros hit a walk off single in the bottom of the 9th to score Ivan Araujo with the winning run and the 3-2 victory for the Charros.


Jalisco improved to 35-23 overall and 14-9 in the second half of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico season with the 7-0 win on Wednesday night. Juan Delgadillo improved to 2-6 on the year with 6 strong innings of 2 hit ball with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts.

The Charros scored two runs in the bottom of the 1st on a sac fly by Leo Heras that scored Eduardo Arredondo and a ground out by Japhet Amador that plated Manny Rodriguez for the 2-0 lead.

Manny Rodriguez singled to right in the 2nd that scored Eduardo Arredondo for a 3-0 Charros lead.

The same tandem scored a run in the 4th as Arredondo, who had singled and moved to second on a balk, scored on a single to left by Rodriguez that upped the lead to 4-0.

Leo Heras led off the 7th for Jalisco with his 8th home run of the year, a solo shot to right for a 5-0 lead. With two outs, CJ Retherford singled to left and IvanAraujo drew a base on balls. Amadeo Zazueta followed with a double that scored Retherford and Araujo for the final two runs and the 7-0 final score.

NFL Game Picks Week 16

After an 11-5 week last week, thank you Aaron Rogers and Chip Kelly, I'm sure to knock 'em dead this week.

(L) Tennessee @ Jacksonville     Titans 20-17     Tossup. Titans defense wins
(L)Philadelphia @ Washington     Eagles 28-24     Eagles O too fast
(W)San Diego @ San Francisco     Chargers 30-21     Harbaugh looking East
(W)Minnesota @ Miami     Dolphins 20-17     Tossup. Going with the home team
(L)Baltimore @ Houston     Ravens 20-13  Defensive struggle...Ravens with too much O
(W)Detroit @ Chicago     Lions 28-13     Cutler out...Goodbye Bears
(L)Cleveland @ Carolina     Browns 20-10     Why...I don't know
(L)Atlanta @ New Orleans     Saints 30-24     Brees wants to get to 8-8
(W)Green Bay @ Tampa Bay     Packers 35-13     It was too cold in Buffalo
(W)Kansas City @ Pittsburgh     Steelers 17-13     Good D by both teams
(W)New England @ NY Jets     Patriots 30-13     Brady or Smith...Brady
(L)NY Giants @ St. Louis     Rams 20-10     Not much O but good D in STL
(W)Buffalo @ Oakland     Raiders 17-12     I don't know...Raiders D
(L)Indianapolis @ Dallas     Colts 20-17     No Murray...No win!
(W)Seattle @  Arizona     Seahawks 22-9     Lindley v. Seahawks secondary...no way!
Denver @ Cincinnati     Broncos 28-13     Manning all better this week

Saints Beat Listless Bears 31-15 on MNF

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints looked like a new team on Monday night, defeating the Chicago Bears 31-15. Brees threw for 375 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions in the win. The Saints improved to 6-8 on the year, a game in front of the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South Division.

Jay Cutler went 17 of  31 for 194 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions against a stingy, swarming Saints defense. Cutler was sacked 7 times for the game.

Read the ESPN recap here.

Golden State Warriors Have Won 16 In A Row

Check out this week's ESPN Power Rankings here.

Royals Sign Alex Rios For 1 Year at 11 Million

The kansas City Royals have signed free agent outfielder, Alex Rios to a 1 year, 11 million dollar contract to replace Norichika Aoki in right field.

Read the ESPN article here.

Dodgers Sign Brett Anderson

The LA Dodgers have signed former Colorado LHP Brett Anderson to a 1 year, 10 million Dollar deal sources said.

Read the ESPN story here.

Jason Motte to Sign With Cubs

Jason Motte, who has played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals, has agreed to a 1 year deal with the Chicago Cubs for a reported 4.5 million dollars.

Motte missed the entire 2013 season after undergoing "tommy john" surgery.

In 2012, Motte had 42 saves and an ERA of 2.75

Kentucky Remains Unanimous #1 in Men's Basketball

The 11-0 Kentucky Wildcats remained the unanimous #1 in the NCAA Men's Baskaetball AP Top 10. Two days after losing Alex Poythress, their leading scorer, to an ACL injury, the Wildcats beat North Carolina 84-70.

Duke, Arizona, Louisville and Wisconsin remain unchanged to round out the top 5.

The top 7 spots remain the same with Virginia at #6 and Villanova at #7. Gonzaga leapfrogged Texas for the 8th spot and Kansas remained at #10. Wichita State is at 11 and Ohio State comes in at #12.

MLB Signings of Note This Week

Chase Headley is reported to have signed a 4 year 52 million dollar contract with the NY Yankees. Headley was traded to the Yankees prior to the deadline in 2014 and hit a combined .243 with 13 HRs and 49 RBIs last season.

The Chicago White Sox have signed free agent, Melky Cabrera to a 3 year 42 million dollar contract. Cabrera hit .301 with 16 home runs, 73 RBIs and 81 runs for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014.

Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals have avoided a grievance hearing by agreeing to a 2 year 7.5 million dollar contract. In an injury plagued 2014 season, Harper nit .273 with 13 HRs and 32 RBIs.

Charros Sweep Navojoa with 5-2 Victory

The Charros de Jalisco swept the three game series with the Mayos de Navojoa with a 5-2 victory on Sunday night. Ivan Zavala pitched the 8th inning for the Charros to pick up the win while Brian Broderick notched his 16th save of the year.

Jalisco scored two runs in the top of the1st. Eduardo Arredondo singled to right and Manny Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Leo Heras laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Japhet Amador singled to center to score Arredondo and Rodriguez for the quick 2-0 Charros lead.

The Mayos got a run back in their half of the 1st on a single by Alan Sanchez and a one out double to left by Jose Chavez that scored Sanchez to cut the Charros' lead to 2-1.

Tim Fedroff led off the bottom of the 2bd for Navojoa with a single to right. After Carlos Orrantia struck out, Fernando Flores doubled to score Fedroff and the score was tied at 2.

There would be no more runs scored by either team until the top of the 9th. Jose Lopez replaced Esteban Haro on the mound for Navojoa and got the first two batters out on fly balls to the outfield. The third batter, CJ Retherford, doubled and scored on a double to right by Edson Garcia. Jesus Lopez then singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Lopez stole second and Garcia and Lopez both scored on a throwing error by the Navojoa shortstop on a ground ball. That made it a 5-2 ball game as Broderick pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to give the win to Zavala.

Ivan Zavala, normally an 8th inning set up man, got the win to go to 1-0 on the year with a 2.70 ERA while Jose Lopez took the loss for the 19-37 Mayos.

Edson Garcia was 1 for 1 with a double and an RBI after replacing Jesus Cota in left field. Japhet Amador was 1 for 4 with his 46th RBI of the year. CJ Retherford went 2 for 4 to up his batting average to .368 on the season.

The Charros are now 10 games over .500 at 33-23 and 12-9 for the second half. Jalisco is one full game ahead of both Mexicali and Culiacan for the overall Liga Mexicana del Pacifico lead.  

Charros Best Mayos 5-1

After falling behind 1-0 in the 1st, the Charros erupted for 5 runs in the 3rd to defeat the Mayos de Navojoa in the second game of a three game set in Navojoa.

Jose Chavez singled to start the bottom of the 1st for the Mayos. Carlos Orrantia singled to center to put runners on the corners with no outs. Jon Weber singled to score Chavez and give Navojoa a one run lead at 1-0.

The Charros bats remained quiet until the top of the 3rd when Gabriel Gutierrez singled to right to lead off the inning and went to third on a single by Ivan Araujo. Jesus Lopez singled to score Gutierrez with Araujo stopping at second. Eduardo Arredondo reached safely on a sacrifice bunt that the Mayo's first baseman misplayed to load the bases for the Charros. Manny Rodriguez hit into a double play that scored Araujo and got Lopez to third. Leo Heras drew a base on balls. Japhet Amador singled to score Lopez and move Heras to second. Heras stole third in front of a Marquez Smith walk that loaded the bases again for Jalisco. CJ Retherford singled to left to score Heras and Amador and the Charros were on top 5-1.

The Mayos only threat after the first came in the bottom of the 8th. With the benefit of 2 walks, Navojoa chased the Charros starter, Ben Kozlowski. Adrian Ramirez, on in relief, got Jose Chavez to pop out to second and Carlos Orrantia to pop out to first. Ivan Salas relieved Ramirez and got Jon Weber to fly out to left to end the threat.

Ben Koslowski went 7 innings giving up just 3 hits and 1 run, all in the 1st inning, t improve to 3-2 on the year. Kozlowski struck out 4 but also walked 4. The Mayos did not get a hit after the 1st inning.

Salvador Robles took the loss for the Mayos to fall to 1-7 on the season.

The Charros are now 32-23 overall and 11-9 in the second half of the season.

Marcus Mariota Wins Heisman Trophy

As if there was any doubt, Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy for 2014.

Read the ESPN article here.

Muschamp Returns to Auburn as Defensive Coordinator

Auburn University has reportedly inked Will Muschamp to a 3year deal worth between 1.6 and 1.8 million dollars a year. This would make Muschamp the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football.

It appears that Muschamp's interview with the University of Houston for their head coaching position  may have been a ruse to force Auburn's hand.

Read the ESPN article here.

Muschamp's "I'm just a ball coach"  Auburn introduction.

Charros Top Navojoa 2-1 Behind Orlando Lara's Strong Outing

The Mayos de Navojoa may be in last place in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico but you wouldn't have known it last night as it took a strong pitching performance by the Charros starter, Orlando Lara, to defeat the Mayos 2-1.

Manny Rodriguez drew a walk to begin the Charros 4th. Leo Heras walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch by the Navojoa starter, Hector Velazquez. With one out, CJ Retherford singled to score Rodriguez and Jalisco led 1-0.

Navojoa tied the game in the bottom of the 5th on a lead off walk to Eliseo Aldazaba and a single to right by Rolando Acosta that put runners on the corners. Tim Fedroff then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Aldazaba with the tying run.

The Charros lead off hitter in the 6th, Manny Rodriguez, doubled to left and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Leo Heras. Rodriguez scored on a sac fly to right by Marquez Smith and the Charros had regained the lead 2-1. That would prove to be the winning run as the pitching, by both teams, took over.

Manny Rodriguez was 1 for 3 with his 21st double of the year and 2 runs scored. CJ Retherford singled once in his three at bats and drove in the first run for the Charros. Marquez Smith, though hitless on the night, hit the sac fly to drive in the eventual winning run in the 6th inning. Gabriel Gutierrez was 2 for 2 with a double and a stolen base.

Orlando Lara, now 5-3 on the year, got the win, allowing just 2 hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 6 but walked 4, continuing a pattern by the Charros starters of late. Brian Broderick pitched the 9th to pick up his 15th save of the year.

Hector Velazquez, for the Mayos, matched Lara's pitching for 6 innings, giving up just 4 hits and 2 runs with 4 strikeouts. He walked 3 and saw his record fall to 0-5 on the season.

Jalisco remains atop the overall standings with a 31-23 record, one game ahead of Mexicali, los Mochis and Culiacan who are all 30-24. The Charros are 10-9 in the second half of the season one game behind the leaders.

2015 Alpine Cowboys Hot Stove Talk

I wrote an article for the bigbendcourier.com on the upcoming season for the Alpine Cowboys, a team in the Pecos League.

The Cowboys made it to the finals last year and came up a game short of the Pecos League Championship.

Read the article here and follow the Pecos league beginning in May of 2015. I will have updated articles here and you can follow the games on pecosleague.com. The Cowboys home games are carried on KVLF 1240 AM.

Arizona Cardinals Over Rams 12-6

The Arizona Cardinals rode the toe of Chandler Catanzaro to victory last night, 12-6, over the St. Louis Rams. The two teams combined for 6 field goals and 0 touchdowns.

The Cardinals became the first team this year to win a game without scoring a touchdown while the Rams have not allowed a touchdown in their last three games.

Drew Stanton, who left the field in the 3rd quarter with an injury, and Ryan Lindley were a combined 16 of 30 passing for 139 yards and no touchdowns for the Cardinals while Shaun Hill was 20 of 39 for 229 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for the Rams.

Arizona rushed for 143 yards on 33 carries, led by Kerwynn Williams' 75 yards and the Rams were held to 69 yards on the ground with Tre Mason running for 33 yards on 13 carries.

Read the ESPN recap here.

Tomateros Defeat Charros 5-2

The Tomateros de Culiacan took the rubber match of the 3 game series with the Charros, 5-2, on a night that Jalisco's offense was ineffective, the fielding was erratic and the their starting pitching was poor.

Rico Noel drew a walk and stole second to lead off the game for Culiacan. Noel then stole third and scored on a throwing error by the Charros catcher. The Tomateros had a 1-0 lead with out benefit of a hit.

The Charros answered in their half of the first when Leo Heras singled and Japhet Amador was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Marquez Smith singled to right and Heras scored. Jalisco had tied the score at 1, after 1 inning.

Culiacan loaded the bases with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd and Joey Meneses singled to score Ramiro Pena and Issmael Salas to give the Tomateros a 3-1 lead.

CJ Retherford hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to left, to pull the Charros to within a run at 3-2 in the bottom of the 3rd.

Ali Solis was hit by a pitch to start the 4th. Rico Noel walked. Ramiro Pena moved both runners up on a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher. Eric Farris then hit a sac fly to right to score Solis and Russell Branyan doubled to left to score Noel. Culican took the lead with the eventual final score of 5-2.

The Charros were unable to score two separate times with the bases loaded after the 4th inning. Jalisco was 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position while stranding 13.

Juan Delgadillo took the loss for the Charros to fall to 1-6 on the season, giving up all 5 Tomateros runs on just 4 hits but he hit 2 batters and walked 4 more in just 3 2/3 innings on the mound. The Jalisco relief pitchers pitched 5 1/3 innings of scoreless 2 hit ball, to keep the game as close as it was for the Charros.

Juan Castillo got the win in relief for Culiacan. The Tomateros pitchers scattered 11 hits by the Charros. Oscar Villarreal pitched the 9th to notch his 5th save of the year